Stamicarbon granulation:From conventional to multi-functional designBranislav Manic
Process Engineer Finishing Technologies
Conventional granulation design• Large scale granulation plant
Simplified granulation design• Micro-mist venturi (MMV) scrubbing technology
Multi-product granulation design• Urea ammonium sulfate (UAS) production plant
Agenda
New frontiers and opportunities
Stamicarbon granulation
• History:
✓ 2002: Grodno, Belarus (280 MTPD) revamped plant
✓ 2003: Agrium, Canada (2 x 625 MTPD) revamped plant
✓ 2006: EFC, Egypt (2000 MTPD) grass root plant
…
✓ 2018: More than 15 reference plants
• Properties of Stamicarbon fluid-bed granulation:
✓ Low formaldehyde consumption ( < 0.3 wt.-% )
✓ Low dust formation
✓ Long on-stream times ( > 90 days )
✓ Ease of operation
New frontiers and opportunities
Conventional granulation design
Formaldehyde
COOLER
SCRUBBER
Granulated
product
GRANULATOR
Fines
Coarse MAIN SCREEN
GRANULATE
COOLER
STACK
Wet Recycle
Urea
ELEVATORFINAL
COOLER
CRUSHER
Process
water
GRANULATOR
SCRUBBER
DISSOLVING
VESSEL
NH3 liq.
NH3 gas
UREA: < 30 mg/Nm3
NH3: ≈ 120 mg/Nm3
UREA: 98.2 wt-%
HCHO: 0.3 wt-%
H2O: 1.5 wt-%
MELT
PUMPAIR FANAIR FAN AIR FAN
Urea melt / solution
Solid product
Air and process gases
Utilities
UREA: 44.9 wt-%
HCHO: 0.1 wt-%
H2O: 55 wt-%
UREA: 99.5 wt-%
HCHO: 0.3 wt-%
H2O: 0.2 wt-%
New frontiers and opportunities
Conventional granulation design
• Client: Pardis Petrochemical Co., Assaluyeh, Iran
• 3250 MTPD Urea Melt and Granulation plant
• Contractor: Hedco, Iran
✓ Date of contract: 2011
✓ Mechanical completion: 2017
✓ Commissioning & Start up: 2018
• Plant status:
✓ Plant capacity: 100% name plate capacity
✓ On-stream time (in summer): > 2 months
Large scale granulation plant
New frontiers and opportunities
Conventional granulation design
Formaldehyde
COOLER
SCRUBBER
Granulated
product
GRANULATOR
Fines
Coarse MAIN SCREEN
GRANULATE
COOLER
STACK
Wet Recycle
Urea
ELEVATORFINAL
COOLER
CRUSHER
Process
water
GRANULATOR
SCRUBBER
DISSOLVING
VESSEL
NH3 liq.
NH3 gas
MELT
PUMPAIR FANAIR FAN AIR FAN
Urea melt / solution
Solid product
Air and process gases
Utilities
Granulation design optimization
70 oC
95 oC → 85 oC
70 oC
New frontiers and opportunities
Simplified granulation design
Formaldehyde
CW in
GRANULATOR
Fines
Coarse MAIN SCREEN
STACK
Wet Recycle
Urea
ELEVATOR
FINAL
COOLER
CRUSHER
Process
water
GRANULATOR
SCRUBBER
DISSOLVING
VESSEL
MELT
PUMPAIR FANAIR FAN
Urea melt / solution
Solid product
Air and process gases
Utilities
Granulated
product
CW out
UREA: < 30 mg/Nm3
NH3: ≈ 120 mg/Nm3
MMV + Acidic Scrubbing:
UREA: < 10 mg/Nm3
NH3: < 20 mg/Nm3
Granulation design optimization
New frontiers and opportunities
Simplified granulation design
• Reduction in CAPEX: 20%
✓ Equipment, transportation, insurance, erection and labor
• Reduction in OPEX
✓ Electricity consumption reduced for 20%
Product properties Unit Guaranteed Measured
Total Nitrogen
Biuret
Moisture
Formaldehyde
Crushing strength
PSD: 2.0 < x < 4.0 mm
PSD: x < 1.0 mm
%
%
%
%
kgf
%
%
> 46.1
< 0.9
< 0.3
< 0.35
> 3.0
> 90
< 0.05
46.4
0.82
0.17
0.28
4.18
94.42
n/a
• Client: BCIC Shahjalal, Sylhet, Bangladesh
• 1760 MTPD Urea Melt and Granulation plant
• Contractor: Complant/Chengda
✓ Date of contract: 2011
✓ Commissioning & Start up: 2015
Benefits
First reference plant
New frontiers and opportunities
Simplified granulation design
KOCH Fertilizer, Enid, Oklahoma, USA
• 2676 MTPD Urea Granulation
✓ Emission Control Technology: MMV + WESP
Dust < 5 mg/Nm3
Ammonia (H2SO4) < 20 mg/Nm3
MMV scrubbing technology in operation
Dakota Gasification Company, Beulah, North Dakota, USA
• 1000 MTPD Urea Granulation
✓ Emission Control Technology: Micro-Mist Venturi (MMV)
Dust < 10 mg/Nm3
Ammonia (H2SO4) < 25 mg/Nm3
All conducted emission measurements are
below expected emission figures!
New frontiers and opportunities
Multi-product granulation design
Iron
ManganeseBoron
MolybdenumCopper
Zinc
ChlorineNickelCobaltSodiumSilicon
Nitrogen
Phosphorous
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
Sulfur
Non mineral nutrients Mineral macro nutrients Mineral micro nutrients
PLANT
NUTRIENTS
Carbon
Hydrogen
Oxygen
• Sulfur is nowadays often considered the 4th plant-nutrient after N, P and K.
• Nitrogen-to-Sulfur demand ratio for crops:
✓ Normal: 10:1 to 12:1
✓ Oil crops: 5:1
• World sulfur consumption in fertilizers is estimated at 13.3 Mt/year (IFA 2017). This is barely half of what crops need.
• Sulfur source: elemental sulfur or ammonium sulfate
On macro and micro nutrients
New frontiers and opportunities
Multi-product granulation design
Urea Ammonium Sulfate (UAS) process
Urea Melt
AS
Ambient air
Process cond.
Off gas
End Product
Urea solution
H2SO4GRANULATIO
N
SCRUBBING
EVAPORATIO
N
SUSPENSION
New frontiers and opportunities
Multi-product granulation design
UAS process peculiarities
• AS (solid) as by-product from caprolactam production, coke ovens, etc.
• No surfactants and no granulation additives (besides formaldehyde) needed
• Feasible for production of UAS with AS content 0 to 50 wt-%
• UAS granules have same particle size range as Urea granules
• Expected emission levels are the same as for the urea production
• Presented UAS plant concept is capable of handling other solid additives:
✓ Free flowing
✓ Average particle size of around 1 mm and dust free
✓ Low hardness/abrasiveness
✓ Stable suspension
New frontiers and opportunities
Multi-product granulation design
• Client: JSC MCC Eurochem, Novomoskovsk, Russia
• 600 MTPD UAS granulation plant
✓ Date of contract: 2011
✓ Commissioning & Start up: Q3 2018
• Commissioning milestones (based on Product portfolio):
✓ Urea with no AS (pure; 0.0 wt-% S) 🗹 reached
✓ Urea with 16.8 wt-% AS (4.0 wt-% S) 🗹 reached
✓ Urea with 31.5 wt-% AS (7.5 wt-% S) 🗹 reached
✓ Urea with 50.0 wt-% AS (12.0 wt-% S) ☐ Q4 2018
UAS plant in operation
New frontiers and opportunities
Conclusions
• New references in Stamicarbon granulation portfolio:
✓ Large scale granulation plant (3250 MTPD)
✓ Micro-mist venturi scrubbing technology (<10 mg/Nm3)
✓ Urea ammonium sulfate plant (600 MTPD, 0-50 wt-% AS)
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